Cape Town's Open Data Policy

06 Jun 2014

In what I believe is a first for South Africa, the City of Cape Town is soliciting public comment on its draft Open Data Policy. This is a critical first step towards making open data a full-time player for the City. It has the potential to create new job opportunities, make the City more efficient, and strengthen ties between the City and its citizens.

It’s only the first step, though. It’s not enough just to make data available. It needs to be useful data, it needs to be up to date, and people who can use it need to know about it. To that end, I hope the City partners with the right groups to raise awareness, use the data, and provide feedback to the City.

Ideally, the City itself should be a customer of its own open data portal. It should become an integral part of how the City functions, not just an end result or output.

What do you think should go into an Open Data Policy to ensure its success? If you’re interested in Open Data or have an idea for how it could be used, be sure to give the City your input.